Pocono Raceway officials say they will study the track's logs to investigate whether fans at Sunday's race were adequately warned of the thunderstorm that produced a fatal lightning strike.

MICHAEL SADOWSKI

Pocono Raceway officials say they will study the track's logs to investigate whether fans at Sunday's race were adequately warned of the thunderstorm that produced a fatal lightning strike.

Track President and CEO Brandon Igdalsky said Monday that a day to reflect on Sunday's tragedy wasn't enough, and officials will spend an unspecified amount of time trying to piece together the events that led up to the death of a Moosic man.

"We're going through all of our records and logs," he said. "We don't want to speculate on anything right now."

Igdalsky said ending the race is NASCAR's call and NASCAR's call only, but noted that Pocono track officials were in contact with NASCAR about the approaching storm.

He declined to discuss the track's emergency response Sunday or what NASCAR advised at the time of the storm.

NASCAR spokesman Dave Higdon said Monday that officials are reviewing how the track carried out its emergency procedures.

He cautioned against rushing to judgment until all the facts are known.

"Anytime something like this happens, we make sure we look at it again and see if there's anything we should have done different," Higdon said. "It's never a good day for us when someone passes and people are hurt."

Questions persisted Monday about whether the track gave adequate notice to fans of the impending storm.

Eighteen minutes after the National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Monroe County, the raceway tweeted that storms with lightning and heavy winds were moving in.

But questions persisted about what, if any, other steps could have been taken to alert attendees.

Igdalsky said loudspeakers for storm or emergency warnings reach the grandstand and camping areas of the track.

Igdalsky said the track had a lightning event years ago, but there were no fatalities. He didn't know exactly when it happened.

In 1983, lightning struck nine spectators at the Mason-Dixon 500 auto race, killing two and seriously injuring two others, according to published reports.

Brian Zimmerman, 41, of Moosic, died Sunday after a lightning strike following the Pennsylvania 400 NASCAR race in Long Pond.

It was one of 166 lightning strikes that occurred within a 5-mile radius of the raceway from noon to 7 p.m. Sunday, according to data secured by the Pocono Record from the National Lightning Detection Network of the Vaisala Group.

Data supplied by Vaisala and another lightning detection tracking company, WSI Corp. from The United States Precision Lightning Network, reveal 22 lightning strikes within a 2-mile radius of the track Sunday.

All but two of those occurred from 4:50 to 5:15 p.m., according to Vaisala data.

Monroe County and track officials said Zimmerman had been standing next to his car near Gate 5A off Route 115 when the lightning struck around 5 p.m.

Seven lightning strikes were recorded within a 5-mile radius of the track at 5:01 p.m., according to Vaisala data. Each reflected varying strengths — measured in kiloamperes — with the strongest measuring 25.2.

But Ron Holle, a Vaisala meteorologist, said the measures are largely irrelevant when it comes to the destructive and dangerous power that a lightning strike can exert.

"There are no weak cloud-to-ground strikes," he said.

Brian Mattson of Greentown said he and friend Tom Deacher had just gotten into their truck to leave the track when they saw the first strike hit about two car rows in front of them.

Mattson said sparks flew "like a Roman candle" after the lightning hit a tailgating canopy next to a car.

"When the tent collapsed, I knew it wasn't right," said Deacher, of Mayfield.

They ran over and found two men on the ground. Deacher said he and others tried to administer CPR to the men until paramedics arrived.

Emergency personnel transported Zimmerman to the infield hospital. An ambulance then took him to Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg, where he was pronounced dead at 6:11 p.m., Monroe County Coroner Bob Allen said.

Zimmerman was one of 10 people affected by what authorities said were two separate lightning strikes.

One victim was taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Allentown and was upgraded to stable condition Monday. The other eight, Igdalsky said, had either been discharged from the hospital or were about to be discharged Monday.

At 6:35 p.m., a report of another possible lightning strike, this time near Gate 3 and affecting one person, reached track officials.

Data from United States Precision Lightning Network showed no strikes within 6 miles past 5:39 p.m. and the latest strike recorded by Vaisala was at 5:20 p.m. about 20 miles away.

Igdalsky said he planned to talk with the victims Monday afternoon, and that he planned to call Zimmerman's family as well to offer condolences.

He said Zimmerman was a longtime NASCAR fan who had been coming to the Long Pond track for years with college friends.

He said the track will establish a memorial fund for all of the victims.

Igdalsky, clearly distraught during a Monday news conference, said track officials will focus on the dizzying events that transpired.

"We will learn from the incident and continue to implement strategies to help ensure the safety of fans and all attendees at future events at Pocono Raceway," Igdalsky said in a statement.

A large U.S. flag flew at half-staff at the track Monday.

Even though Igdalsky said any investigation of the logs won't be rushed, he did say he has learned something already from the tragedy.

"That Mother Nature is sneaky," he said, with a lump in his throat.

Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department Chief Harry Lewis said safety procedures are reviewed and updated at the track every year.

He said the department already has started at looking at ways to improve safety measures for next year's two NASCAR stops at Pocono Raceway.

"You can read a manual and you can plan for it," he said. "But until you see those plans carried out, it's difficult. We've already looked at things to improve for next year."

The National Weather Service issued the storm warning at 4:12 p.m., but the race — which only completed 98 of 160 laps — wasn't called off until 4:54, Igdalsky said, right before the storm hit.

The Associated Press and Executive Editor Christopher Mele contributed to this report.